Despite being promoted more than next week’s UFC 284 pay-per-view (PPV), Power Slap is not exactly thriving on cable tv. On Wednesday night, Power Slap went on air for the third week of its scheduled eight episode run, and ShowBuzzDaily reported the latest viewer count (H/T Bloody Elbow).
The results aren’t great.
In week one, Power Slap debuted with 295,000 viewers, earning a .10 share and the no. 45 spot for all Wednesday night programming. Performance improved significantly in week two, when Power Slap jumped to no. 30 and gained an additional six-figures worth of viewers, landing them at 413,000 total viewers.
That bump may have just been demonstrated an aberration, however. This week, the viewer total has dropped back down below the debuting baseline, as a mere 284,000 viewers tuned in to witness all the slapping. For comparison, the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) episode that leads into Power Slap pulled 901,000 viewers.
In summary, Power Slap retained about a third of the AEW audience.
It’s not total doom and gloom for UFC President Dana White’s latest business venture, however. The sport has generated a great deal of attention and goes viral with regularity. Plus, expenses seem to be rather low. The UFC PR machine is already built, and its churning out lots of Power Slap promotion. Meanwhile, the athletes are only making a couple grand, and it doesn’t cost much to book an MMA referee or two for an evening.
Declining viewership can’t be considered a good thing, but it’s still too early to label Power Slap a complete bust. Still, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside of Anthony Smith ponying up for the debut Power Slap PPV.